From the Co-Founders of The Retail Owners Institute.Tips | Tactics | Insights on the Business of Retailing.
Sound merchandise management is crucial for the survival and prosperity of your retail business.
For example, say you’re currently keeping about $150,000 tied up in inventory
You discover that a carefully-monitored merchandise management (or “Open-to-Buy”) plan can cut that by 10 percent
That means you’ve just freed up $15,000 in cash for more prudent investment!
Chances are you have slack of at least 10% in your inventory right now! (And remember, the same math applies if your inventory is $1.5 million, or $15 million, or more! How much cash does 10% of that represent?)
Consider what a good merchandise plan can do for your business:
improve your inventory turnover
cut your inventory carrying costs
help you keep your inventory fresh—thereby cutting markdowns and closeouts.
In short, it could help you make more money!
Though making a buying plan takes time and effort, it pays off when you begin seeing your merchandise inflow closely matching your sales patterns.
Ready to bring that inventory into line? Go here in The ROI's Library for Owners for Merchandise Planning: Back to the Basics.
Instead, it pertains to the bond markets. It is the difference between interest rates on short-term and long-term government bonds. When long-term interest rates fall below short-term interest rates, the yield curve becomes inverted.
Here is why that matters: According to research by the San Francisco Fed, "Every recession of the past 60 years has been preceded by an inverted yield curve."
Sales ticking up? Here's why – and how to pick up the pace even more
Have you noticed? We may be making progress in this economic turnaround. Many retailers now are being buoyed by upticks in sales.
Aside from being relieved, have you given any thought to "Why?" your business is experiencing sales increases?
We can tell you in advance: it will be driven by one of these three basic reasons:
So, Amazon announced its plan to acquire Whole Foods, the 440 store natural foods grocer concentrated in urban locations, for more than $13 Billion (yes, with a b). They do have a flair for the dramatic, eh? So, why does Amazon want to acquire Whole Foods?
Our opinion: Amazon is a technology company, and relentlessly data-driven.
We believe they want to acquire Whole Foods for the same reason that drives acquisitions at most technology companies: Amazon wants the Intellectual Property of Whole Foods.
Quick: Imagine an online shopper. Did you imagine a man or a woman?
Full disclosure: We thought that online shopping would be dominated by tech-savvy males. Didn't you?
Well, we thought wrong!
What especially intrigued us, however, is this new feature Boxed has announced: group orders.
Customers can now do a group order online by sending links to others to collaborate on an order.
You've heard of Comic-Con, right? It began in 1970 in San Diego to celebrate pop culture, from comic books to films and science fiction/fantasy literature. It has since grown into an extravaganza attracting 130,000+ costumed fans, industry professionals, Hollywood types, vendors and spectators.
Or, as Patricia Vekich Waldron, the CEO of Vision First observed*, "After nearly 50 years, Comic-Con has turned in many ways into the ultimate pop-up store."
And she challenges retailers, developers and brands to "pay attention to how Comic-Con continues to captivate and delight its fans."
Pat Johnson and Dick Outcalt, The Co-Founders of The Retail Owners Institute®, have been called "The Zen masters of retail finance!" Since 1999, they have been assembling their proprietary content into a unique self-help website. The Retail Owners Institute is an unmatched resource that assists retailers worldwide with basic financial training, assistance and easy-to-use tools. Their engaging and empowering how-to resources about the financial levers in retailing are informative, fun(!), and retailer-friendly. Their promise: "Everyone will 'get it'!" Pat and Dick are recognized experts in strategic retailing. Working only as a team – Outcalt & Johnson: Retail Strategists, LLC – they have been consulting, publishing, and speaking professionally throughout North America since 1990. They focus exclusively on retail, or wherever retail is involved. They work with CEOs, CFOs, boards and owners of retail operations, as well as manufacturers or wholesalers expanding into retail. And they also are Retail Turnaround Experts.
Since 1999, empowering retailers and store owners to "Turn on your financial headlights!"